Pigeon Pie

Dress and wash clean, split down the back, and then proceed as for chicken pie.

Stewed Pigeons

Dress, tie down the wings and legs, and put a small piece of bacon onto the breast of each bird; place in the bottom of a kettle a slice or two of bacon, and lay the pigeons carefully on them; cover with stock; cover the kettle very closely, and simmer slowly until tender; serve on toast.

Jugged Pigeon

Truss and season the pigeons with pepper and salt; stuff them with a mixture of their own livers, shred with beef suet, bread crumbs, parsley, marjoram, and two eggs; sew them up and put into the jar with half a pound of butter; stop up the jug, so that no steam can get out, then set them in a pot of water to stew; they will take two hours, and must boil all the time; when stewed enough take them out of the gravy, skim off the fat. put in a spoonful of cream, a little lemon peel, an anchovy shred, a few mushrooms, and thicken it with butter and flour; dish up the pigeons, pour the sauce over them, and garnish with sliced lemon.

Roast Pigeons

When cleaned and ready for roasting, fill the bird with a stuffing of bread crumbs, a spoonful of butter, a little salt and nutmeg, and three oysters to each bird (some prefer chopped apple). They must be well basted with melted butter, and require thirty minutes' careful cooking. In the autumn they are best, and should be full grown.

How To Roast Pigeons

They should be dressed while fresh. If young they will be ready for roasting in twelve hours. Dress carefully, and after making clean, wipe dry and put into each bird a small piece of butter dipped in cayenne. Truss the wings over the back and roast in a quick oven, keeping them constantly basted with butter. Serve with brown gravy. Dish them with young water-cresses.

Broiled Pigeons

Split down the back; roll them in butter and cracker-crumbs, and broil; serve them on toast like quail, laying a piece of butter on each.

Pigeon Compote

Truss six pigeons as for boiling. Grate the crumbs of a small loaf of bread, scrape one pound of fat bacon, chop thyme, parsley, an onion, and lemon peel fine, and season with salt and pepper, mix it up with two eggs, put this force-meat into the craws of the pigeons, lard the breasts and fry brown; place them in a stew-pan with some beef stock, and stew them three-quarters of an hour, thicken with a piece of butter rolled in flour. Serve with force-meat balls around the dish and strain the gravy onto the pigeons.